₦airaland Forum

bigfrancis21:
This is really a sad situation regarding the Igbo language. It is dying a gradual death honestly, and with each passing generation the number of fluent speakers keep reducing. Igbo parents are repeating the same mistake each passing year. There is a gradual switch to English and were as a tribe are on this gradual journey of switching to English language. Something needs to be done about the Igbo language honestly. The attitude of our people towards the language is disheartening. On my father's side, they were about 8 surviving adults out of 9 children of which only one family raised their children in Igbo. All other 7 adults raised their kids in English and 90% of them/us (28 in total) do not speak Igbo as young adults today. In my own family (my dad is the 3rd son), I am the only one who speaks Igbo fluently, my 3 siblings do not speak and do not care to put effort into speaking, so do most of my cousins. We lost our grandmother last year and one of my pains was losing a matriarch who was so versed in the Igbo language who passed down the language to her children but her children failed to do the same to their own children. Learning Igbo as an adult is not easy and this is what many Igbo parents who speak Igbo do not understand because it comes easy to them as they were raised with it. However, if you put in efforts you will be solid in the language in about 2 to 3 years.

I've been to Igbo gatherings here in the US where I spoke Igbo and my peers and even the elderly ones looked at me like seeing a Nigerian-born and raised speaking Chinese. Why is it such a surprise among Igbos to see an Igbo speaking their language? It is starting to get common seeing Igbos in their 30s who can't speak Igbo and this was very rare about 20 to 30 years ago. The massive shift towards raising kids in English started around the 80s/90s and spread very quickly in the 2000s. These kids are now young adults in their 30s to 40s and some are non-Igbo speakers. Igbos abroad do not do a good job at all as regards the language and your father's attitude is quite sad. Seeing a US-born Igbo who speaks Igbo is like finding a needle in a sack of sand. Maybe these parents forget that they won't live forever and someday most of them would be gone and we would be left with non-Igbo speaking adults in their 40s and 50s. This can be likened to how African languages phased out among educated first-generation slaves from West Africa in Freetown, Sierra Leone and amongst slaves generally in the US. Freed slaves who settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone obtained education and by their next generation (2nd generation), probably less than 40% (born in Sierra Leone) could speak their mother tongue, the other 60% being raised in English. Come 50 years after, the educated first-generation African ex-slaves were gone leaving behind a generation with passable command of their mother tongues. By the third generation, all traces of spoken African languages were gone and the switch to English language was completed. This was not done by no one but by we Africans ourselves.

The attitude of we Igbos ourselves towards our language needs to change. One of my paternal aunts (1 of 8 surviving adults) who herself speaks Igbo fluently said she prefers Peter Okoye to Paul Okoye because, 'Paul is local and uses more Igbo in his songs, but Peter is more refined' (ever noticed how Peter Okoye nearly never uses Igbo in his songs?)

As regards the language to learn, you should learn Igbo, being an Igbo person yourself. If you relocate to Nigeria you could learn Igbo faster and better, especially if you spend some time in your village or hire an Igbo tutor to teach and practice the language with you. Unlike the Yorubas, I've noticed that Igbo speakers are not usually keen on teaching others the language. Back in my university days, I had a few non-Igbo classmates who were excited about learning/practicing their Igbo skills and majority of my classmates were not interested in practicing with them except me. You will find people like this in Nigeria but do not be discouraged. You would find some people who would give you the 'are you crazy' looks that you (an American) is trying to speak Igbo 'when you should be speaking Americana/American English instead'. But do not be discouraged.

Igbo grammar is quite tonal, like other West African languages, and uses a different set of stress glands compared to English so you would need to pay attention to it when learning the language. There are plenty of Igbo language movies online (Youtube etc) and they can be helpful. If you haven't yet, join Umu Igbo Unite (a US-based organization for Igbo people in the diaspora, mostly US-born) and they often hold Igbo language classes where you can learn Igbo. I've been to one of their events and saw several US-born Igbos who learned fluent Igbo from those classes - they do a good job.

If you believe you can do it, you will do it.

Joshmodest:
To be candid fraud ain't right, and no one is expecting Simi to come out and say it is , but as a public figure there are things , you shouldn't talk about , especially for a secular musician like herself....There is nothing wrong in acting like you don't know it exists , Davido and Wizkid the big guys would never say a thing about fraud !! Cos they really don't have to , they are musicians and not moralists , thier job is to make good music and that's all , when an artist begins to talk about issues beyond music he/she is loosing focus.....
As an artist you don't talk about sensitive issues like drug dealings , LGBT , religion , and in Nigeria Yahoo....
What is wrong is wrong but sometimes certain issues are better left untouched for your interest and well-being... prior to her post nobody knew or wanted to know her stance on fraud !

Day2logic:
One thing is a nations problem is everybody’s problem. A person can repent and then preach to others about repentance. I think what that guy is saying is if you once stole you can’t preach against stealing

Expensive2000:
Yesterday night I spotted a gang of robbers on my way home and I ran.while running,I also met a team of SARs officers in the front.I quickly ran back to robbers for safety.

abiolert:
shut up if you dont know what to say

dkronicle:
I just told you what my occupation is. If you get better work also, i go accept gladly.

dkronicle:
I sell designers foot wears. I deliver too.

dkronicle:
Na because simi don see money wey go take her and her family to another level. If say na up and coming she be. She for just dey think of new song to write. Ndu ara

Frederick2017:
Not Afe it's Abuad.....

MaiGemu:
Evil men calling themselves men of god... I pity those applying that school